Daron Hagen's Complete Piano Trios

American composer Daron Hagen (b. 1961) may not be universally recognized for his chamber music. The recent release of his Complete Piano Trios (Naxos 8.559657) may do much to rectify that.

There are four trios written between 1984-2007. Each has its own character. I must say I do quite like the third, based on the folk melody "The Wayfaring Stranger."

His music is lyrical, "neo" more than avant garde, idiomatic and well thought out.

It's the sort of music one knows will take quite a few listens to absorb fully and before such work-pleasure is complete, some ultimate or semi-ultimate judgement will not be on the personal program. At least that's how it is with me.

This is music that is "serious" in the same way that Aaron Copland's chamber music was. It is not given to pleasantries. There is a depth to these pieces I've yet to fully plummet. I will say that the performances by the Finisterra Trio seem marvelous to me. Detailed and passionate interpretations prevail.

I do recommend this recording. I reserve final judgement on the music itself however, until I've lived with it for a longer time. One thing is clear. Daron Hagen's Piano Trios are formidable works.

Tenorman Rich Corpolongo and His Trio "Get Happy"

From what I understand Rich Corpolongo can take it out as well as remain inside. On his third (as far as I know anyway) CD Get Happy (Delmark 592) he fronts a trio of veteran jounrneymen (Dan Shapera, bass; Rusty Jones, drums) and they play in the later '50s pianoless trio style made popular by Sonny Rollins.

Now that in itself is not remarkable. What IS remarkable is the sheer joy you hear in their playing, which can sometimes be missing from the modern approach today. This is loose and advanced bebop in the Rollins-early Trane sort of bag. They cover standard standards like "Body and Soul" and "Lullaby of the Leaves" and a few of the more obscure Bird numbers ("Chi Chi," "Dewey Square"). It's a two-microphone recording in a resonant hall and so the sound matches the style perfectly.

But what matters is that the trio plays the music with all the inspired abandon it demands. Rusty Jones swings with all the nuance and verve of the Max-Roach-and-after school. Dan Shapera has that big bass sound that booms out welcomingly. And Rich Corpolongo can play a rapid line with the Chicago intensity of Von Freeman and the guys.

This is no repertoire band sort of thing. It has all the verve and commitment of those who genuinely love the style and have devoted many years to making the music LIVE. Corpolongo sounds especially terrific.

A great addition to your bebop holdings is what this could be. It's so good you start to forget it was made yesterday.

Johnny Griffin's Last Go-Round, Live at Ronnie Scott's, 2008

Johnny Griffin is gone. His music stays with us. He was recorded in May of 2008 at Ronnie Scott's famed venue and it turns out that it was his last official record date (In & Out 77095-2). You get an hour of Johnny in the distinguished company of Billy Cobham, Roy Hargrove, pianist David Newton (with James Pearson and Steve Kuhn taking over the keys on one cut each). Reggie Johnson anchors the music on bass

They play an assortment of standards (like "Lester Leaps In" and "How Deep is the Ocean") plus three Griffin numbers and one by Hargrove.

The band is in fine form with Roy Hargrove in a good place throughout. And Johnny Griffin? He has his sound. But he doesn't quite have the masterful execution of the glory years. That is sad to hear.

If you are a stalwart Griffin fan, you'll probably want this one. Others may choose to seek out the music of the more healthy Griffin.

McPhee, Whitecage, Smoker, Prentice, Kowald, Duval, Rosen, 1998

Time flies whether you are having fun or not. So as I listen to CIMPhonia 1998, Part One (CIMP 173) and revel in its improvisatory glow it comes as a shock to me to realize that this recording was made 12 years ago. It transcends time, so that's not the point. It hits me, though, that '98 is now part of the somewhat distant past.

For the music contained on this CD it only underscores how great improvisation has and will outlast the time zone in which it was created. And with Trio X currently touring, it also underscores that the three members (Joe McPhee, soprano, tenor, trumpet; Dominic Duval, acoustic bass; Jay Rosen, drums) have been interacting together for a long time.

CIMPhonia 1998, Part One is a more all-encompassing collective improv date though, so the three are intermingled with some very potent cats: Mark Whitecage on reeds, Paul Smoker, trumpet, David Prentice, violin, and the late Peter Kowald on bass.

The group goes through a goodly contrast of moods and modes, from the "sunrise on the Delta" sort of undulations of "Estrus" to all the sorts of permutations and trajectories artists of this caliber can conjure.

Everybody sounds great and they mesh together quite well. To me though it's the horns as a unit and the two basses interlocking that make for especially remarkable listening.

Perhaps you've missed this one. Don't. In its own sweet way it is a milestone for improv, circa 1998.

Click on the CIMP link on this page to get details.

Good Vibes On Chris Graham's "After-Birth of the Cool"

If you've dug the alternately dreamy and pointed tonal excursions of Gary Burton's vibraphone artistry, Chris Graham is an important exponent and extension of the style, and so you will find yourself on familiar yet somehow regenerated ground if you listen to his recent After-Birth of the Cool (Chris Graham Jazz).

It's Mr. Graham and his trio (Alex Austin, acoustic bass; Oliver Hunt, drums) holding forth for around 30 minutes of good sounds. The bass and drums give solid and sensitive support while Chris Graham shows his tasteful, subtly swinging multi-malleted harmonic-melodic abilities, which are considerable.

Most of these seem to be originals and they are appealing. But I especially like the version of Ralph Towner's "Icarus," a Winter's Consort signature song that here is given a lyrical vibes trio treatment.

It's all good, if short.

Chris Graham is a vibraphonist of distinction. The CD is a delight.

Either/Orchestra Celebrates 25 Years with New Release

Mood Music for Time Travellers (Accurate 3285) kicks off the 25th anniversary celebration of the Either/ Orchestra, a large ensemble dedicated to modern-tight arranging-composing and a sense of adventure.

The new disk sees them take a retrospective look at American music forms: jazz boogaloo (see yesterday's posting for my feelings on that in general), Ellingtonian rhumba, Latin jazz, reggae, and such.

As always Russ Gershon and the group go the extra mile for compositions and arrangements that have flash, polish and full musical content. The Latin numbers are especially invigorating, aided and abetted by new member pianist Rafael Alcala.

The album is filled with examples of how and why the Either/Orchestra is one of the most sophisticated, accomplished and dynamic large ensembles working today.

Grab an earful of this new one and I think you'll be very pleased! Happy 25th to the Either/Orchestra.

Benny Sharoni, New Tenor on the Block

To start a review off by noting that tenor-sax man Benny Sharoni was born on a kibbutz in Israel and grew up there, that his father was originally from Yemen, that he has studied with Jerry Bregonzi and George Garzone would imply that all of that is relevant to what he plays on his debut CD Eternal Elixir (Papaya Records). Well I don't know that it isn't. He does seem to be quite fluent in the modern jazz treatment of the minor mode and there's a ballsy not-quite-mainstream approach (if you associate the mainstream with music that can be anemic, which it can these days) that Bergonzi and Garzone have in common.

That all assumes that musicians are nothing but an algebraic proportion of the cultural milieu of their upbringing and education. We know that cannot fully account for what makes somebody thrive, nor does it account for the particular combination of elements in any artist's way of creating. Like for example I happen to have cultivated a life-long love for Dostoevsky and Melville, but I don't think it explains how I write, exactly.

So let's cut to the quick. I like this album and I like Sharoni's playing. It's modern, nuanced, and has the ability to fire up or remain tranquil according to the song and the mood. If I hear a trace of Joe Henderson plus Bergonzi, Garzone and Lovano in his playing, all the better, since I do like those players very much. His fellow session mates are well-chosen. Mike Mele shines on his guitar solo spots, Barry Ries plays a puckery trumpet with roots in the '60s masters of the instrument, the alternating piano work of Joe Barbato and Kyle Aho can be filled with the old-school hard bopper's way or a post-Tyner bag, depending, but they are good exponents, and the rhythm team of Todd Baker (bass) and Steve Langone (drums) are solid.

This is hard-bop-and-beyond blowing. It's no accident that Sharoni spices up his interesting originals with some classic Blue Mitchell and Donald Byrd. Hebb's "Sunny" is not one that I would expect, but Sharoni does something on his solo, so. . . then "To Life" evokes another musical trunk that it would be natural for someone like Sharoni to reference, as we imply (but does not explain HOW he references it).

My only quibble is about the tradition and what we choose to maintain of it. Byrd's "Pentecostal Feeling" was one of those Blue Note boogaloos that found its way onto jukeboxes in the mid-sixties. In that period just about every Blue Note record had at least one of those numbers, because there was a community of listeners that dug it.

It's an old style and I am not sure it speaks to us today as much as some other aspects of the tradition. I'll be honest. I'd really rather listen to James Brown do something in this mode, because he and his band could smoke it to the high heavens. The jazz boogaloo thing always seemed to be (and still does) a kind of watering down of the electrifying experience of hearing Mr. Brown do it. What if every rock act were to be obliged to do a twist song? Not all of the past needs to be rehashed, and we can always go back to the originals. That's not to take away from the whole thing, but it's a personal bugaboo with me. And it is only a small part of what's on this album.

Benny Sharoni shows he can play, really play on Eternal Elixir. It's a fine outing and gives notice that here is a player! Bravo for that.